The day began with string of transactions, every one of them significant and in some cases surprising, not necessarily designed to come in unison but certainly having the collective effect of shaking up a roster that for two months had underachieved and left the Nationals with a losing record during the first week of June.

Except, for eight innings Tuesday night, nothing about these new-look Nationals looked, well, new. They got another great pitching performance from Jordan Zimmermann but still found themselves trailing thanks to some sloppy defense and a complete lack of offense.

Inside the dugout at Nationals Park, though, heads were not drooped. Players remained upbeat. And the key veteran just activated off the disabled list led the rallying cry.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in this team,” Jayson Werth said. “It’s just something you go through with a young team and guys finding their way in the league. We’ve got so much talent, sometimes it’s easy to get in your own way. Not surprising. But at the same time, it’s time to get it going.”

So they did. At long last, the Nationals mounted a late rally, storming back to score the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the ninth, beat the Mets 3-2 and enjoy something not enjoyed in these parts since Werth’s at-bat for the ages last October: a walk-off celebration.Read more

I am grieving over Danny Espinosa's downfall. I wouldn't feel so bad if his problem was just being injured. He could take the time off to get healthy and come back and compete for his job at second base. However, I'm afraid he has an attitude problem and is not accepting responsibility for his role in his downfall. If he is bitter and holds the organization responsible, then there is probably no hope for his comeback. I don't know for sure, but is sounded like he was hardheaded and wouldn't take instructions or advice on how to fix his hitting woes. If this is the case, then he needs to grow up. Maybe he'll come to realize his way didn't work and maybe he should try getting and acting on the help that was offered. Does anyone know how long we have control over him?

I too, as an Espinosa fan, feel bad (and worried) about Danny. If he looks at it rationally, he was not treated poorly by the organization. Rather, he was given medical care and advice–though some of it conflicting advice–and allowed many, many chances. I hope he has a friend, coach, agent or someone to sit with him and tell him it's not the end of the world if he sits out year. Adam LaRoche did, a zillion pitchers have.

Also, much as the players love Davey, it's Werth who rules the clubhouse, and it's tough to rule it from the DL or from Potomac.They have got to clean up the errors. Period.Congrats to Lombo. I didn't get to see any of the game, but thanks to MLB.tv archives I can watch it today, including JZ's great outing, Clip, Desi's HR, Zim's double…Ah, this game had a lot.

I used to be a big time Espi fan, but not anymore. Not because he has been so poor offensively, but because he has been, in my opinion, very selfish. It seems as though he could hit zero, constantly dragging the team down, and still feel entitled to be out there. I have a hard time feeling sorry for a 26 year old who makes a million dollars or so (has already made more money than most of us have in a lifetime) and does not even come close to doing the job. And, it seems, is now sulking about his demotion instead of saying 'I deserved this and will come back ready.'

I am one who is hoping that Danny get healthy (either through rest or surgery) then goes down and get things worked out. Yes, he seems to be a little hard headed but I remember being in my mid-twenties and just wanting do it my way. I think Rizzo's shock to the system plan of DL and then minor league working is what was needed. Either option would not let Danny know how serious things are but more importantly how much the team wants him to succeed. Granted, he may sour on the Team and become a bad apple and if that happens I guess Rizzo will find him a new destination. Here's hoping he takes the reality check to heart and gets healthy and happy.

The post title has several different meanings, for me. A Long Time Coming a) for a walk off win this year. I think we doubled our 9th inning runs, for the year, last night!b) for the DL stint for Espinosa (which should have started at the beginning of the year for his shoulder)c) for moving HRod to anywhere but here.. maybe someone else can "fix" himAnyway, great post! I feel like if Werth stays healthy, this team can put together a stretch where they win more than they lose.

Les, yes A Long Time Coming.Yah the Henry and Espi fans here have to be wondering how they couldve been so wrong. 2 guys given more then a fair share of chances. In the end Espis story isnt over. Their will be a lesson to Davey and Rizzo.Last nights walkoff hero was the 2nd baseman. His name wasnt Espi however was the name Lombo. The guy who has been in the shadows until the day Espi was sent out.

So much of baseball is mental. There had to have been some uneasy feelings out there and some readjusting going on. I know they still were not scoring and there were some miscues, but as the game went on it did not feel as hopeless as usual. Jayson Werth has a presence that is not easy to define– he was not going to let them get down and quit. We also knew that the big hole in the line up was not there. Any of the guys coming up at least had the possibility of starting something, moving something along, sacrificing, scrapping something out. Posters have said no fight or heart late in games, but there it was. Zim actually challenged Ankiel's arm!! That took a lot of guts and it started things off. Lombo battled to get that run in. He did not just leave it for the next guy. I liked those determined actions that might have carried risk but were needed.

It should be a happy day for sure to celebrate and then you have those that want to morn the loss publicly of there favorite players. My feeling is the best 25 didnt go north and the morning shouldve been done in spring training. I share the thoughts of others here in What took you so long!

baseballswami, I am with you. I felt this game was different like a dark cloud had been lifted. Davey has been rescued from himself in a strange way with Espinosa. Without Henry and Duke, I hope Davey can gain confidence in all facets of his bullpen.

2 things of note– Parnell had not blown a save in over a month and there were 3 clean hits in a row off of him. He did not give those bases away except for the wild pitch. Sure, he tried to walk Lombo , but he preferred to take action. Second– we all feel that we never win late, ever. But Clip has four wins so that means at least those other three times he had to have come in with us behind or tied. I am guessing Stammen has wins , too. This will be interesting going forward. More coming out today about yesterday's events. Did you realize that Lombo is only one year older than Rendon? I did not know Lombo is only 24. Must be that hairline. Talk about a young team.

as much as we ignore it, there are risks associated with changes. the replacement is not guaranteed to improve things. what then? June is about right, have some faith in the men who assembled what was widely viewed as one of the best teams on Opening Day

We're all entitled to our feelings/opinions, 128. As for me, I think it's possible to agree that actions needed to be taken but also to feel for the players in question as fellow human beings. Personally, I find the repeated "I was right, so-and-so was wrong" proclamations to be more annoying. To each his or her own, right?

Mule Note:Mule is, of course, sad to see Espinosa go. He is a defensive player of unmatchable brilliance; however, such brilliance did not compensate for his offensive ineptitude. His 2012 season at the plate was unacceptably mediocre (.230 BA and 175 K's), unworthy of a championship-calibre club. 2013 proved to be intolerably poor. Once again healthy (wrist AND surgically-repaired left shoulder), he may be able to salvage a meaningful career beyond what it has been to date – "Good glove; no hit" (first used to describe Moe Berg).Mule hopes for the best. Such defensive talent is all to rare.

Not lost in everything (for me at least) was that was the first time I honestly wasnt nervous about Clip going in and giving up his 1 run as usual… Im not a Clip fan at all… But I give him props…It was a great game. I swear, me and swami were just watching the Nats/Phils 5/2013 classic game the other day and commenting about how this team hasnt done something like that …. and BAM! it happened last night…I cant remember the pitcher that said there was no let up in our line up (Maybe Verlander, I cant remember) and I absolutely agree… Good to see the middle of the line up, getting theres…Now if only my husband, Roger, can get better, things will be GREAT!!! (Granted he has been doing better but some of his at bats last night made me want to cry)

While it is very sad, they are paid obscene amounts of money to play a game. Even league minimum most people could live on for a few years. In Duke's case I think it was just a poor fit and it was a favor to let him go to find work elsewhere. The other two have been given way more time than they ever would have had anywhere else. I am convinced of that. They were both shown infinite patience and received tons of care and attention. Neither one should ever feel that they were not given a fair shot. Again- I feel that on any other team they would not have had this much rope.

Joe Seamhead said…"Interesting. Espinosa, HRod, and Duke all pretty much had their underperforming selves unceremoniously ushered out the day Jayson Werth comes back. It's like the sheriff is back in town."I think the off day, the pitchers' blowups in Atlanta, and in Espi's case the fact that Rendon was healthy again and deemed ready to play 2B had a lot more to do with it than Werth's return.Not sure I understand the "grieving" for Espinosa. He'll have plenty more chances, starting next spring when he'll probably be the presumptive middle infield bench guy, or maybe the presumptive starter at 2B if they have to trade LaRoche and move Zim to 1B and Rendon to 3B.

Alexva, if the new guys here don't perform then I expect more changes. Anyway you look at it, the only stat that matters is Ws and Ls and you have to play the best players to get the Ws. Stats like WAR, BAPIP, YMCA etc are cute but in the end you need to win.

I understand that they are all in on Eck, but during the games his head is always in his notebook. Just seems like he should be intently watching what the pitcher and hitters are actually doing during that game and helping the guys make adjustments. Usually when a team is hitting this badly, the hitting coach is at least on the hot seat.

I really like Steve Lombardozzi. As an infielder utility guy, but I really thought when Davey told him to"put your outfielder's glove away" last year that was what should have been the end of Lombo's playing LF. He has gotten better at running routes and getting jumps, but he has a noodle arm that is not ML caliber. Swap out Tyler Moore for either Brown, or Perez, and this team is better served until the Kid returns.

Eck has to be in the hot seat… The plate discpline and awareness or lack of (from some of the batters) seems to be a direct correlation/link to him…Some times the pitcher wins the battle and but it seems like every guy who comes in with a high ERA, we make him look like a CY candidate..We should have been hitting Hefner all over the field yesterday…

Guess my sarcasm meter isn't working today, Joe- sorry!I agree with you about the OF. I'd like to see Brown on the roster. I'm telling myself that the reason they didn't make an OF move during the flurry of transactions yesterday is because they expect Harper back on June 11 and didn't want to burn options for a mere six days' worth of games. May or may not be true, but when it comes to Harper I'll take any little bit of encouraging "news" I can get.

DJ likes TMo's power… And he honestly believes he is in a funk… I dont see us bringing anyone up and sending him down (although I have been saying for weeks that I hope that is what they do…)But then again, I didnt think I would see the day that the Nats parted ways with HRod…

Yes, he seems to be a little hard headed but I remember being in my mid-twenties and just wanting do it my way. It wasn't only "wanting to do it his way", but, it seems pretty clear that he didn't want to lose his job by sitting out.Was it immature and selfish? Yes. (Although lots of guys try to deny the obvious and play through injuries). But, he just turned 26, and sometimes 26-year olds, fearful of their jobs, in slumps, do stupid things.During the "time out" on DL and (hopefully) AAA, he will, hopefully, have the time to figure out why he is where he is, and at that point he will either: (a) start to get it together with the talent that so many think he has; or (b) turn into the proverbial "great field no hit" utility player.

But Clip has four wins so that means at least those other three times he had to have come in with us behind or tied.Yes — his other three wins were all when he entered the game when the Nats were tied.Fact is, when behind after six innings, the Nats were 0-for-the-season this year. Until last night.

I'm not sure that the late, great hitting guru Charley Lau would successfully get through to some of these guys. Incidentally, Lau was either fired, or pushed out of more then one organization. I don't claim to know that Eck has a lot to do with the failures of some of our batters. I have gotten the impression that Eck worked with at least one guy that during the workouts bobbed his head up and down in agreement like a Chinese bobblehead with his advice, and then didn't practice it at the plate in games.Some guys just can't hit ML pitching, but they could at least try to follow the plan.I do know that Michael Morse gave a ton of credit to Eck for his improved hitting.GYFNG!!!

Eck didn't get thru to Danny but based on the comments about how hard headed he is I doubt anyone will until Danny learns that a .150 hitting infielder doesn't deserve to be in MLB no matter how highly you think of yourself.

I have to trust in DJ's judgement in Tyler Moore, but I'm pretty sure it's in one of the articles of the US Constitution that we can disagree with the manager of a baseball team. Shoot, we each know we could do a better job, right? As to "TMo's power," it doesn't take a heck of a lot of power to walk back to the dugout after striking out.

"I too, as an Espinosa fan, feel bad (and worried) about Danny. If he looks at it rationally, he was not treated poorly by the organization. Rather, he was given medical care and advice–though some of it conflicting advice–and allowed many, many chances. I hope he has a friend, coach, agent or someone to sit with him and tell him it's not the end of the world if he sits out year. Adam LaRoche did, a zillion pitchers have."Agreed 1,000%. I'm sad it had to come to this with him and really hope to see him come back and succeed."It should be a happy day for sure to celebrate and then you have those that want to morn the loss publicly of there favorite players."It's always so nice to get a little coaching on the proper way to be a fan. Thanks Nats 128, we're lost without you.

It's clear that Espinosa contributed to his own demise by resisting medical diagnosis/treatment, both as to his shoulder and his wrist. Had he taken care of the shoulder in October, Lombardozzi holds the fort until June-July, Rendon creates havoc in the minors for a year, and Espinosa doesn't fracture his wrist. I was unaware players have the right to refuse medical testing — though I suspect they don't have such a right and the Nats unwisely indulged him. Blame to both parties on that account.Fantasy: Espinosa heals, learns how to foul pitches off instead of flail, Nats decide to make Desmond a CF. Span is a nice CF but has not added nearly as much to the offense as we were sold.

"During the "time out" on DL and (hopefully) AAA"Rizzo was pretty definitive about the fact that the DL would be followed by a stint in AAA. And, that he'd be back this year. I believe the former; I think the latter is as much helping Espi save face in the long run as it is a confident assertion.I don't blame Espi for being angry. I will take seriously anyone who *does* blame him if they would happily accept a demotion at their job.

"Fantasy: Espinosa heals, learns how to foul pitches off instead of flail, Nats decide to make Desmond a CF. Span is a nice CF but has not added nearly as much to the offense as we were sold."3-man infield? Interesting… 😉

I agree SCNatsFan.I don't think that Danny ever understood that what he was doing wasn't working. Being a physical training nut, he thought that he could alter his AB's to overcome rotator cuff problems, wrist injuries, whatever.Davey and Rizzo should have seen his stubborness as a form of arrogance and been more in front of Danny's attitude. It went on too long, and should have been addressed back in 2011.

Many folks seem to overvalue Lombardozzi as both a 2B, utility player and a hitter, but the one thing he truly is is a good situational hitter. In a unique situation last night — not only needed to hit the ball to the OF but even more needed to avoid being walked. It's important to foul off pitches that are too good to hit but even harder to foul off bad pitches until you get something you can handle.

In the conversation about Espinosa playing through pain, nobody ever mentions that he's eligible for arbitration for the first time next year. Strange as it may sound, $500,000 a year is not a lot of money for someone who has to maintain two residences, give a cut to his agent, and most importantly wants to make the money last a long time since he skipped some/all of college and other types or work to play ball.If Espinosa had been able to tough it out and have a year similar to his 2012, he would have been in line for a huge raise. If he sat out he'd be stuck near the league minimum again. I have to think that was a huge part of what made him try to play through injury- and can you really blame him?

Theophilus T. S. said…"Many folks seem to overvalue Lombardozzi as both a 2B, utility player and a hitter, but the one thing he truly is is a good situational hitter. In a unique situation last night — not only needed to hit the ball to the OF but even more needed to avoid being walked."Uh, you're gonna need to unpack this "avoid being walked" thing for me. Wouldn't a walk have won the game?

MrsB loves the Nats said… If your evaluating roster decisions, you have to evaluate the coaches too…. We will see what happens but Eck has to get some scrutiny…. June 05, 2013 8:56 AM Eck is getting scrutiny in the court of public opinion and that's usually where it happens.If Eck is responsible for everything on offense then he deserves a ton of credit for the 4.70 last year and you have to ask yourself how can things drop so dramatically?Part of it is the Nats as a team last year were slow starters just like this year and the deep April slumps by ALR and Espi's season long slump and all the injuries to starters are a problem.If the Nats don't win last night, you have to look to the bases loaded inning where the Nats didn't score and the 8th inning where the execution was bad.With Werth back in the 2 hole, the Nats need a healthy Bryce in that 3 hole and Rendon in that 7 hole.I think this offense is set to heat up and Eck can start concentrating on tweaking instead of full overhauls.

HRod's DFA was long overdue. It was painful to watch the Nats when he entered a game. Davey and Rizzo were excessively patient with him.As Earl Weaver famously said about a pitcher who complained about being removed from the rotation (Tiant?), "I gave him more chances than I gave my first wife!"

bowdenball I don't blame him for trying but I blame him for thinking his results were due to bad luck or something like that. Putting yourself over the team in a team sport isn't acceptable but understandable. Money doesn't make you happy but lack of money sure doesn't lol.

"In a unique situation last night — not only needed to hit the ball to the OF but even more needed to avoid being walked."Avoid being walked? Is there a rule against walk-off BBs?"Espi should be angry but not at the organization."With all due respect to you and others making such statements, how many of you have psychology degrees with a specialization in armchair diagnostics?Getting demoted is a humiliating experience. Do you expect a person–any person–to kneel down and kiss the feet of the person delivering them such incredible news? Even if the demotion is their own fault?Also, how many people here have any idea how he *actually* responded? How many witnessed even one single second of his reaction?And, how many are going on some out-of-context quote from 2 weeks ago paired with some random tweet from yesterday?

"In a unique situation last night — not only needed to hit the ball to the OF but even more needed to avoid being walked."The bases were loaded. He didn't need to avoid being walked. A walk scores the winning run just as much as a sac fly does.

SCNatsFan said…"bowdenball I don't blame him for trying but I blame him for thinking his results were due to bad luck or something like that. Putting yourself over the team in a team sport isn't acceptable but understandable."If he thought he could perform well enough to make some money he also thought he could perform well enough to help the team. I think most professional athletes truly believe they're much better than they really are. I'm sure in his head Danny Espinosa thinks he's Roberto Alomar even with a bum wrist and shoulder. It's on the club to tell him he's not.

Eric when you get off your high horse I said I was interested in Danny's response. And while I neer said he should kiss the feet of the organization I sadi he shouldn't be uspet at them.Sure being demoted is humbling but so is not hitting your weight and leading the league in strike out percentage. I feel bad for the guy but he wasn't getting the job done here for whatever reason. Armchair diagnostics? How about reading people's posts.

Ohhhh, the Eck defenders. i know, I know….he works hard. He always has a clipboard. yadda yaddaLast night me made ANOTHER AAA pitcher look like Bob Gibson. Its every night now this is happening. "Curve in the dirt…swing and a miss…and the Nats go down in order agin." Eck is stealing money. Has been for a long time

Ghost Of Steve M. said…"Corey Brown is already in the Minors so how would bringing him up going to affect his options?"First you have to make room for him on the current 25 man, and then you have to make room for Harper when he returns. Unless you're planning two DFAs, you can't roster Brown and then later Harper without burning options.

Oddities of the happy morning!- Jordan Zimmermann has not lost a game at home in over a year.- Nats scored as many runs in the ninth inning last night as they had the entire rest of the season.- Red Sox crushed the Rangers last night, 17-5. The Sox hit for the cycle in the second inning (the triple provided by David Ortiz). The only Ranger to throw a scoreless inning was outfielder David Murphy, who allowed 1 hit and had 1 K in 1 IP of work.- Matt Carpenter has been hit by a pitch four times this season. Three of them were last night. He also got a single and a triple.- John Mayberry entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 7th and struck out. He stayed in the game to hit a game tying homer in the 10th, then a walk-off grand slam in the 11th.- Matt Moore went two innings and gave up six walks.- Braves already have more stolen bases in June (three) than they had in May (two).- Home plate umpire Tony Randazzo ejected Mike Aviles from last night's game, after the game had ended.- Bobby Bonilla (who retired in 2001) is the highest paid Mets outfielder. No, not in history — I mean: Bonilla in 2013 is making more salary from the Mets than any Mets outfielder in 2013.

Correctomundo Bowdenball!As I was looking at the pitchtrack, I was thinking why doesn't he just take a walk with the bases juiced. Parnell threw Lombo about 8 balls, and anyone of them would have walked it off for a win.

BigCat said… Ohhhh, the Eck defenders… Eck is stealing money. Has been for a long timeThe question the Eck attackers don't seem to answer is:If Eck is responsible for the low BA this year (really? perhaps it was the fault of some hardheaded players? See, Espinosa, Danny, for example) . . . then isn't he also responsible for getting the Nats from, also, a slow start last year to the fourth highest batting team by the end of the year? With the second youngest team in the league?

Ditto Ghost of Steve M at 9:20. Saw a lot of people demanding Eck get kicked to the curb the first half of last season, and not a single detractor offering him credit for the June turnaround back then. My guess is the song will be the same this time around. I for one am very grateful to have a coach and front office with (sometimes frustrating) patience. We have those guys to thank for our expectations being so high that being merely .500 is a complete affront to humanity and baseball competence, just a few short years removed from back-to-back 100 loss seasons. Things will turnaround for the club this season, and I'll again be thankful not to have a team run by the panic/reset button. Fortunately, there is only room for one Dan Snyder in this town, and he isn't in the baseball business.

Big Cat, there are 15 teams that if you watched them every day you would want to fire their Hitting Coach.I think he is in the Top 15. Part of it is he is following Davey's plan whether we like it or not.

"Armchair diagnostics? How about reading people's posts."Are you suggesting it's impossible that I read posts and come to a different conclusion than you?Speaking of a high horse…Again, on what are you and others basing your diagnosis of Espi as a selfish, angry, hard-headed person who left in a fit of rage that was directed at the Nats?Again, with all due respect. To me, this is just a conversation…you?

On September 6, 2010 against the New York Mets, in his first game at Nationals Park, Espinosa went 4 for 5, with two home runs (the second and third of his career) including a grand slam and six RBI.I was at that game and was blown away by the new kid. I have also been blown away by the Desmond – Espinosa double play combination. But I have really been blown away the most by Espy's rally killing at the plate. Godspeed for a successful recovery, Danny, and hope to see you back someday, healthy and effective.

bowdenball said… I meant someone's options, GoSM. Not necessarily Brown's. June 05, 2013 9:33 AM The only issue under this CBA is years of service on MLB time which doesn't seem to be a problem and bringing up players who would then have to be DFA'd to send them down and the only position player with that issue is Micah Owings and pitchers like Ohlendorf and Chris Young.

I don't understand all the worry about Espinosa. Who says he is angry? It seems rather simple to me. Go and have surgery on your shoulder. Rehab it, work on your swing, come back and compete for a job just like everyone else.

"Not that it matters, Eric, but I do believe that you're bringing it this morning. ;-)"Heh. I just find it amazing that people can be so absolutely certain about the motivations and behaviors of people that they don't know in the least.Of course, if I'm wrong and some of you commenting on such things re: Espi do in fact know him, my apologies for assuming you don't.

Eric I said that I awaited Danny's response. Cleaning out his locker seemed an ominous sign. No desire to get in an argument, sorry to offend. The tone in the forum has greatly improved since someone got DFA'd (and I don't mean Danny), not looking to change that.

Joe Seamhead said… Another oddity, Wonk.Right now, Steve Lombardozzi has more RBI's than five tool CF BJ Upton, 13-12.June 05, 2013 9:37 AM How's about all NL East teams yesterday had their games end on a walk-off and all were walk-offs from tie games.

"Eric I said that I awaited Danny's response. Cleaning out his locker seemed an ominous sign."To me the locker clearing is a result of the fact that he's going to AAA after the 15 day DL, as per Rizzo in a clip played on 106.7 yesterday afternoon.And, no offense taken, just trying to keep it light .

About Eck:You can Lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink! Seriously, at some point the Player needs to make adjustments (Zim pointed out yesterday that Espi never made adjustments and that's his major problem) Sometimes a player just doesn't learn.

Wonder how Lombo feels after waiting patiently behind Espinosa, only to see Rendon brought up and apparently given the 2B job.I guess Lombo will continue to be the super-utility guy, and also platoon in LF with Shark/Tymo.

Talking about hitting and approach is the philosophy that 1 guy can start a rally. Just one because it has to start somewhere. This has to be drilled into the brains of all of these players. Whether it's 1 out, 2 outs or no outs, 1 person has to step up followed by another, then another and so on.National League ball is tougher because of the pitcher's spot but last night Ryan Zimmerman put the team on his shoulders once again and then LaRoche, then Desi, then it was Lombo's turn to execute and the end result was a thing of beauty.Last night was a big 1st step.

Actually, fast eddie, my guess is Lombo and Rendon will platoon at 2B, with Lombo being the primary and Rendon filling in when Lombo is needed in the outfield…I can't imagine they would make Rendon the everyday 2B given his fielding stats compared with Lombo's. Especially since Lombo's racking up the RBIs and they had so much patience with Espi presumably due to his glove.But, we'll see.

Huge win for our Nats, things won't turn around after just one walkoff Curly W, but they should start building on this for a great month of June, since we have an easier stretch coming in the next weeks. I'm really worried Espi won't come back in the Majors wearing a Nats uniform, but if he doesn't want to put his ego aside, he will never become that second baseman many think he could be.

Tcostant said… I much needed win.I'm glad it didn't come to this, but Davey needs to pinch run for ALR when he on 3rd with no outs. Just a bad non-move. Really it should have been when ALR reached 1st base. You have Kobernus who is very speedy and you have TyMo as the backup 1st baseman. No reason in the world it wasn't done.I said it the instant ALR got on 1st. It was a fail even though the Nats won. I still believe Kobernus scores on that Desi double but certainly not a guarantee.

OK, well, go figure right after I post that Mark publishes a new entry that leads off with:"Called up on Tuesday as part of a significant overhaul of the Nationals’ roster, rookie Anthony Rendon is expected to play primarily at second base while up with the big-league club."Color me nervous…put my mind at ease, young Jedi!

Let us assume Danny is hurt and, once healthy, he returns later this year to AAA and actually starts to hit. Let us also assume Rendon hits like Danny did when he was first called up and plays a reasonable 2B. The rub then is the roster can't accomodate Espi, Rendon and Lombo. But that's a problem for another day.

Ghost Of Steve M. said… Tcostant said… I much needed win.I'm glad it didn't come to this, but Davey needs to pinch run for ALR when he on 3rd with no outs. Just a bad non-move. Really it should have been when ALR reached 1st base. You have Kobernus who is very speedy and you have TyMo as the backup 1st baseman. No reason in the world it wasn't done.I said it the instant ALR got on 1st. It was a fail even though the Nats won. I still believe Kobernus scores on that Desi double but certainly not a guarantee.Me: I also said it when he was on first, but I aleast understood the logic not to do it them. Once he got to third with no out, it is a move that must me made. So I agree with you.

I would like to hear what Werth has to say about Eck. He was very critical of Riggleman. Funny how when the veteran players have problems they go elsewhere for help. Laroche to Chipper and Werth saw someone else last year. My son was commenting watching sports center. Balls are flying out of the park all over the place. Scores are 12-10, 9-7. Teams are ringing up 5-6 runs in an inning. Us? We couldn't bust a grape with our bats.But as one blogger said, we will turn it around like last year. I will wait for that to happen thenI will wait for the June -July turnaround as someone said will happen.

First of all, I am not Lombo's agent or anything, but I feel that some are trying to minimize his abilities. This is his second season as a part time player and he is only 24. He can play anywhere,is a switch hitter with pretty even splits, is our emergency catcher, makes contact, is a smart situational hitter. So at his stage of career experience we pick at not walking and declare his arm to be a noodle? I watched that Nats classic on Monday and he was playing third. No, his throws were not Espi- like, or even 2009 Zim, but plenty strong enough. You make plays third to first this early in your career you are doing ok. They play him in the outfield, where I have not seen him cost us anything at all. The Nats would not play him there if he could not at least get the ball in. His arm is not Ankiel, but let's be fair here. This is a very young, not all that experienced player with a unique skill set that brings tremendous value in many areas. We sure do love the flashy skills, but we need the everyday consistency and lack of drama on the team, too. Again- not saying he will ever be an all star or win a shiny glove, but a career like Carroll, Scutaro, Zobrist is not impossible. Not done with developing yet.

Ghost and Tcostant — My guess re not PRing Kobernus for ALR reflected Davey's having more faith in his reconstituted bullpen than in his offense, and not without some reason (at least when ALR was on first). He'd just seen Desi groundout in the 6th with bases loaded when a single would have given JZimm the win, and seen him fail on Saturday night with the potential winning run on 3d with no outs. And the bottom of the order had been unproductive all game (so even if you think Lombo might get a single, that could well have been it).So Davey was trusting his bullpen, minus HRod and Duke, to keep them in it in extra innings against a weak Mets lineup more than he expected our lineup to deliver in the 9th.If that's what he was thinking, then it became a weaker idea once Desi put the winning run on third with no one out, with what Parnell was showing tonight. So there's a stronger argument for pinch running then than with ALR on first.Not saying I agree with that idea, just suggesting what may have been Davey's line of thinking.

swami — couldn't agree more, especially with your comparison of Lombo to other superutility guys. Players like Lombo may not be consistent starters unless others are hurt, but they are completely vital ingredients of consistent contenders.